(Not) Only His Problem
by SakuraNights01
Summary: An exorcism goes all but smoothly, but Reigen is determined to fix his own injuries without Shigeo finding out. (Based on artwork by InsertSomthinAwesome)


"Are you sure you're fine?" Shigeo asked.

"Positive, Mob. It's getting late, so you'd better hurry on home."

Dimple glanced between Reigen and Shigeo, in the midst of a somewhat awkward staredown. Sure, the exorcism job earlier had gone all but smoothly and they probably really should talk about it, but night was bound to fall soon - the office was colored an orange hue from the evening sun through the window. And Reigen was insistent, even more so than usual.

"Come on. Ritsu's gonna wonder what's up if we don't get a move on. Remember what happened last time you came home late?" he chimed in and gently pulled at the young esper's collar. Shigeo hesitated for a moment longer before giving in. For being pestered so, slight annoyance slipped through the cracks of his stony expression. He let go of the knob and took a step back, outside of the office door frame.

"Okay. See you later, then," Shigeo bid farewell - still reluctant - and turned to exit the building entirely by going down the stairwell. Reigen lazily waved him off, then closed the door.

He waited a minute or two, listening for the fading footsteps to disappear entirely, then exhaled deeply. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the door for a moment, then willed himself to move to the other side of the room. A small cabinet behind his desk housed a first aid kit, which had seen more use than one probably should. Reigen opened the cabinet and picked it up with unsteady hands, then made his way to the small coffee table a few steps away.

The kit slipped out of his hands, but he managed to catch it before it fell to the floor. The movement gave him a painful reminder of the day's events, and he hissed as he gripped at his left side. Being a non-esper meant that an evil spirit could easily pick him up and swing him around like a ragdoll. Or send him careening into nearby furniture. Or skidding across pavement. _Ugh_, he shuddered and shook the memories out of his mind. He removed his suit jacket and tossed it over a chair before sitting down heavily on the coffee table. Over the course of time, he found it to be much easier to just do his patch-ups there, rather than his desk or the tiny bathroom. There was much more room to work, and damn if he didn't need the extra space.

Reigen was grateful for the suit jacket. Though he'd surely have to get a new one (what with the new holes and burn marks on it), it was enough to cover the extent of his injuries. Shigeo was only able to see the few scratches he sustained on his face, neck, and hands. The rest, he could easily hide until long after they'd healed. And even then, his student would be none the wiser.

Exactly as it should, and always would be.

He started with the smaller scratches, with a bandaid here and a dab of rubbing alcohol there. Annoyingly, a bandaid had to be placed right across his nose. The scratch there wasn't too bad, but it did hurt a fair bit, so he would simply have to deal with it. It didn't stop his eyes from crossing, though.

The worst of it was still to come, however. Reigen removed his shoes and braced a foot against the chair that was holding his suit jacket. His left side protested this action, but he ignored it in favor of leaning into it slightly. He began to unbutton his white shirt, but halted when he caught sight of the all-too-big, blooming, purple bruise that was crawling up his ribcage. He'd hit that bookcase harder than he thought, apparently. It was too much to bear right now; he swallowed back the sudden urge to vomit, and instead rolled up his left sleeve. A large, bloodied bruise had formed along his forearm, exactly where it had caught the sharp edge of that damned hunk of wood. He made a quick mental note to not take any jobs around libraries or old, abandoned office buildings, then set himself to work.

Reigen was exhausted. His motions were tired - nowhere near how animated he usually was - and his body held an irritating, small trembling to it. He couldn't help feeling even a little peeved about this. The trembling just made his job harder. _The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can go home and go to sleep_, he told himself, dropping the rag he'd used to clean off the blood, and slowly began wrapping his arm. An arduous and painstaking process, but it had to be done. He would just have to ice that huge bruise on his side when he got home.

"Master?"

Shigeo's voice suddenly filled the silence of the room, and Reigen froze, feeling his heart drop into his stomach. He didn't dare turn around to face his student - what the heck was he doing back here?

"Oh, h-hey Mob! You forget something? Ah, it's good that you came back for it, since we're closed tomorrow..." Reigen trailed off with a weak laugh. His voice was shaky, and he cursed himself for being too distracted to hear his footsteps when he came back up the stairs. Worse yet, he'd neglected to lock the door, so naturally, Shigeo simply let himself in.

The silence was heavy, and Reigen chanced a look over his shoulder towards the doorway. Shigeo stood petrified, shock painting his normally calm face. Even Dimple, who floated near his shoulder, appeared somewhat perturbed by the scene. Dimple floated over and inspected him.

"Wow, you look like an evil spirit chewed you up and spat you out," he finally said. It could've been a joke to lighten up the suddenly dour mood, but it was true. Reigen wasn't going to deny he looked ragged and probably worse for wear.

Shigeo still hadn't said anything.

"Mob, I swear, this isn't as bad as it looks," Reigen started as he turned and stood to face him directly. The quick movement made him wince and clutch at his side for a second, before he remembered his place and tried to shrug it off. "Really, it's just a scratch here and there, no sweat."

"Yeah? Ya sure about that?" Dimple spoke up as he floated close to his left side. He poked him once, and was batted away with a small yelp.

"You said you were fine," Shigeo said quietly, and took a step closer. If he could've willed it, Reigen would've made himself disappear right on the spot.

"I am."

"You said you were going home soon."

"And I will, I just needed to… clean up a little, that's all." Reigen tugged his left sleeve back down. Shigeo's eyes honed in on this action, seeing the dried blood on his sleeve.

He remained motionless for another moment before fully approaching his master, gesturing for him to sit down. He sat in the chair directly in front of him and gently took hold of Reigen's arm. Reigen was confused until Shigeo pushed his sleeve back up, grabbed the bandage material, and finished the incomplete wrapping job. Once this was done, he moved on to cleaning and patching up other wounds. Dimple made himself useful by handing the medical supplies over to Shigeo as he needed them. All the while, the room was quiet, somewhat tense.

"...So, why _did_ you come back?" Reigen finally broke the silence. Shigeo kept his eyes averted, dutifully focused on the task at hand. He did pause briefly, then finished applying the newest bandage on one of Reigen's fingers.

"I came back because I was worried about you," he answered plainly. His grip on his hand tightened a little, and his voice masked undertones of guilt. Reigen felt shame bloom within his own chest.

"I'm the adult here, Mob. _I'm_ supposed to worry over _you_, not the other way around."

"Even adults need help sometimes." This time, Shigeo met his gaze with a tired glare, and Reigen sensed indignance in his tone. "I just wish you would trust me to help you when this happens."

"'_When'_?"

"I know this isn't the first time." To make his point, he held up the now-empty box of band-aids, which was a different brand than the one the first-aid kit originally came with, and tossed it into a nearby wastebasket.

"I… I'm sorry," Reigen sighed. There was no arguing this case. It was a lost cause, and he was too worn out to even try. "And thank you. For coming back and helping me." Shigeo's shoulders sagged with relief, and he gave a small smile in return, forgiving.

"Of course."

After a few more minutes of quiet working, the last few scratches had been tidied up. Dimple began putting the supplies away, and Shigeo stood and offered a hand to Reigen.

"How do you feel now?" He supposed his student was only asking out of courtesy. Or maybe he was just using it as an icebreaker after their particularly tense moment back there. Reigen took his hand and winced as he got to his feet.

"Never been better," he joked sarcastically, all the while feeling like he'd been run over by a truck. Shigeo's eye twitched, and Reigen quickly continued, "well, definitely a little better than before, but once I get some sleep, I'll be on the road to a swift recovery!" Shigeo nodded once.

"If you say so."

Reigen watched him for a moment longer, then reached out and patted him on the head.

"I truly do appreciate you helping me. It means a lot, so thank you again."

Instead of brushing it off as usual, Shigeo took a gentle but firm hold of his hand and held it to his forehead, bowing his head all the while. He said nothing, but stayed this way for a minute or so before releasing him. He met Reigen's eyes with a fierce affirmation, a promise that this wouldn't happen again.

The last orange hues of sunset were fading away by the time the three of them exited the office building. Shigeo offered to walk home with him, but Reigen declined.

"You've done more than enough for me, and it's already late as it is." His hand, though lacking its usual flair, gestured about wildly before he pointed at Shigeo. "I still expect you to be at the office bright and early on Saturday, got it?"

"We'll be there, just don't get killed before then," Dimple waved him off easily.

"You know, Dimple was worried about you, too," Shigeo pointed out, much to the evil spirit's dismay.

"Shigeo! How could you?"

"So the green snot bubble DOES have a heart! I'm shocked!" Reigen feigned surprise and laughed. Shigeo caught Dimple's spirit trail before he could punch the man.

"Why I oughta… Let me at 'em!"

"Take care, Master," he said as he turned around, dragging the struggling Dimple along with him. Reigen went the other direction and began making his way home. Walking was not fantastic, but the idea that he'd be home soon kept him going strong. That, and the weight of just another of his lies had been graciously lifted off of his shoulders.

Despite the pain, he liked to think he was able to walk just a little bit taller now.

* * *

**Based on this beautiful artwork by InsertSomthinAwesome: insertsomthinawesome/art/Not-Only-his-problem-794148164**

**Sorry it took me so long to write this; I'd actually forgotten until I refound this picture in my favorites gallery a couple days ago! Two intense writing sessions followed, haha!**


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